Northlake Elementary students who live in the Alista apartments participate in Kids-U, an afterschool program: Brandy Barham
One of our New Year’s resolutions is to focus more on the serious efforts people in the neighborhood are making to improve the lives of everyone who lives here, on what is effective when it comes to addressing problems related to poverty, and on the people who face said problems.
From the upcoming January magazine: “Monthly in 2014, the Advocate will share a story about people in our neighborhood struggling with poverty, unemployment or other disadvantages, and we will examine efforts made to improve those difficult situations. We also will write about individuals and groups dedicated to making a difference. If you have a story to share, email chughes@advocatemag.com and write ‘solutions’ in the subject line.”
The introduction, which runs in the January magazine, includes some insight, from those entrenched in the community, about the issues Lake Highlands faces related to high density and low finances:
The first order of business when it comes to strengthening our community, District 10 Councilman Jerry Allen says, is changing some of the things we say about one another. Allen says he prefers the term “multifamily communities” instead of “apartments” and “experiencing asset poverty” instead of “poor” or “indigent”.
“Once people start seeing we are all in this together, we can get on our way to living in a safe, clean, more enriching neighborhood, which is what every family wants,” he says.
Examples of those “getting on with it” can be found in every nook of our neighborhood.
Take, for instance, Kids-U, a Lake Highlands apartment-based program focused on providing basic after-school care and tutoring for some of our area’s most vulnerable children and adolescents. MORE…
